A freediver descends into water that feels less like a setting and more like a living thing. The Blue Butterfly is an excuse, what actually matters is Ushio moving through that space like he belongs nowhere else, and Ayuuru as the only person who understands that restlessness. This OVA doesn't build toward revelation. It breathes.
Ushio is a freediver with unusual powers: he can breathe underwater and control water to a degree. He and his friends travel to a tropical land hoping to find the Blue Butterfly, a rare and legendary fish. Their search brings them to Ayuuru, a local girl who swims freely in the deep and may know where the fish can be found. Ushio wonders whether she shares his abilities. This single-episode OVA from 1994 adapts the manga by Kitagawa Shou and blends drama, fantasy and romance.
